Join us for our 14th annual Kids’ Literary Festival!

This year our special guest is Pete The Cat - he'll be leading the fun on Saturday morning from 10 am - 12 pm. Story time, music, dancing, photos and more! Kids of all ages welcome to this fun and free family event.

Join us in the afternoon for our 2019 Big Blue Marble Author/Illustrator Fest with Matt Phelan, Christine Kendall, Amy Ignatow, Eric Bell, Rachel Dougherty, Andrea Tsurumi, Kate Garchinsky, Dave Engledow, Gail Silver, Wendy Greenley and Jennifer Robin Barr.

Authors and illustrators will be in the store to meet fans and sign books on Saturday, April 27 from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. We’ll also have panels and workshops for kids, parents, and aspiring authors/illustrators!

Author/Illustrator Fest Schedule

1:00 pm, Writing Diverse Characters Panel

with Amy Ignatow, Eric Bell, and Christine Kendall

Big Blue Marble Bookstore (551 Carpenter Lane)

1:00 pm, Bridge Building Workshop for elementary age kids and parents

Rachel Doughtery, author/illustrator of the picture book Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge, will lead a workshop using simple building materials to show how bridges work. Come explore the world of engineering and learn about the woman who helped engineer one of the country’s most famous bridges!  Get tickets: $10/family

Mt. Airy Nexus (520 Carpenter Lane)

2:00 pm, Illustrating Animals, a workshop for kids age 8-12

Illustrator Kate Garchinsky will share secrets for making realistic animal drawings and paintings and help young illustrators design their own animal book. Get tickets: $5/child.

Mt. Airy Nexus (520 Carpenter Lane)

2:00 pm, Making Family Books Workshop

Dave Engeldow, author/illustrator of The Little Girl Who Wanted to be Big and The Little Girl Who Didn’t Want to Go to Bed will demonstrate his system of using family photos to create collage illustrations. Come and learn how to make your own family stories! Free.

Big Blue Marble Bookstore classroom (551 Carpenter Lane)

2:30 pm, Publishing for Children Panel

            with Matt Phelan, Jennifer Robin Barr, and Rachel Dougherty

            Come explore the world of publishing for children and young adults. Free and open to all.

Big Blue Marble Bookstore (551 Carpenter Lane)

3:30 pm, Making Books for Children Panel

            with Andrea Tsurumi, Gail Silver, Wendy Greenley, and Kate Garchinsky

Learn more about how words and images come together to create picture books. Free.

Big Blue Marble Bookstore (551 Carpenter Lane)